Ponderosa

Today i stayed for another whole hour and nothing really happened. Mr. Ferreira didn't have me give any individual lessons because he probably thinks that they're good enough at their musical level. But, i agree, thinking back on it, they're pretty advanced at the level they're at right now. I have played an important part in their live by helping them advance in their musical life.

Junipero Serra

Today i went to JS to check up on them. I honestly really haven't been going to there lately which is something i truly regret because i really need and want to work with this section. I couldn't bring my trumpet today because im not suppose to practice because my jazz concert was tonight. Mr Ferreira told me that i should've becasue the trumpet section needs A LOT of help! i heard them and they were really behind compared to the other schools. i was sorta disappointed in me...they really need help!

Ponderosa

Today, i split the trumpet section into 2 again, but this time, i worked 30 min with each group! With the first group we worked with easy songs such as "Mary had a little Lamb". After, since we had a lot of extra time, i had each of them to play a specific note to at the same time to create a chord. They didn't know what it was, but when i heard it, it sounded good =]. When the next group came in, i had them play a few easy songs, which was a breeze for them because they were advanced compared to the other group. After, we did some more chord progressions, and i also gave them tips to help their playing such as mouthpiece buzzing.

Buri Buri

Today, i worked almost a full hour with Tommy. I've noticed that he hasn't improved much and that he forgot about the "foot tapping" technique from the last time i gave him a lesson. I sort of lost patients because of this, but i managed myself  and held it in. So, today we re-worked the foot tapping and time. Also taught him some basic warm-ups due to the extra time we had.

Ponderosa

After 2 busy weeks of band trip and preparing and performing at the legendary Reno Jazz Festival, i finally got a chance to see if the students have improved. When i first arrived at Ponderosa, I went straight to the room and gave a lesson to the two kids that struggled last time. I helped them with their timing. But when i did this, all of their focus went to timing instead of hitting the right notes. So, i made them play simple rhythms with certain notes. After a few tries they got the hang of it and we then started to play songs out of the book, which they seemed to improve on due to the exercises we did earlier.

Ponderosa

After recovering from my sickness, i finally got back. Today, i taught the WHOLE trumpet section, but i divided them into 2 groups(15min each). The first group was the harder one because they needed more help. The first thing i told them to do was to play a song together. I did this so i can hear which trumpet player would need help. So, i helped them out...it was just the notes that they needed help on. The second group came in and consisted of two them. They seemed to be more advanced so i just taught them some warm ups that they should be doing on a daily basis.

March 22, 2011 Buri Buri

I really didn't do much today because i was feeling under the weather, so i just sit in and played with the band. In addition i still gave tips to the Tommy and the other trumpet player while they were playing.

Ponderosa

Today, Mr. Ferreira told me to teach two different kids from the trumpet section. It was like the first time; one kid was better than the other. I spent most of the time teaching the one who needed more help. I gave him the usual constant reminders of use more air and tighten your lips as you play higher notes. Telling him this helped but then he got light headed! i was shocked and didn't know what to do. I told him that he can go outside to get air or water if he wants to, but he refused because he said he was just really sick. This made me feel bad for forcing him to use more air, but the problem was that i didn't know the kid wasn't feeling good.

Buri Buri

Today I came back and gave Tommy an individual lesson. I haven't heard him play in a long time it seemed, because lately Ive just been sitting in with the band just playing. Today, Ive noticed something really different about his playing...his tone improved greatly! much more better than before. I asked him if he practiced and he told me that he did, which i could truly believe. The only thing we worked on was his counting and timing. I told him that if he taps his foot to the tempo it would really help him. he started tapping his foot and his timing already made a significant change. He was constantly on beat.

Junipero Serra

I haven't gone to Junipero Serra in a while due to the busy Fridays I've had lately. I also haven't got a chance to give any sectionals or individual lessons to the trumpeters here. Today, i sat in with the band and played with them. It annoyed me that these kids needed a lot to work on, and i wanted to really help them! They didn't know how to play any notes and their tone was also bad. hopefully next time i see them, i will be able to improve these faults!

Ponderosa

Today i didn't give any lessons, i just sat in and played with the band. Ive noticed that the ponderosa trumpet section has a few more players than the other schools. I tried listening to hear which ones actually needed my help. Out of the six trumpeters, four of them did. The other two were actually decent and seemed like they knew their stuff just from me observing them play.

Buri Buri

Today, I got to work with Tommy again. I had him play a few songs and noticed that his tone was improving little by little. I still had to give him constant reminders of putting more air through the trumpet. He also knew most of the notes! which showed me that he actually practiced and studied them.  

Buri Buri

Today I didn't give any individual lessons, I sat in and played with the band. while playing these simple songs, i tried listening to the other trumpet player (who i don't give lessons to) to hear his progress. Ive noticed he knew his stuff- good tone and he also knew his notes. I wasn't sure if he either practiced a lot of was given private lessons. The only thing he needed to work on was his rhythm, because every time he'd catch his breath, he get off beat. After i notified him about this problem, he fixed it after a few tries of trial and error.

Ponderosa

Instead of taking in two kids at the same time (like last week), Mr Ferreira told me to take in the one who needed more help first, which is what i did. So i worked with this kid and he was exactly like Tommy- he didn't know his notes and also had bad tone. I pointed out the notes and had him name them then play them. I also gave him practicing tips. I told him to work on all of the songs they play during practice so that it'll be easier to play when he comes to rehearsals. I also gave him advice on tone, I told him that the more air he uses, the easier it will be to play especially when he tries to play higher notes. i plan on working more with his tone next time i see him because if he wants to play better, it will be easier if his tone is fixed in my opinion.      

the next week at Buri Buri

Today i gave an individual lesson to Tommy. I was notified by Mr. Ferreira that he didn't know his notes. To fix this problem, i pointed out certain notes then had him say them and also play them right after. By the end of the 30 min, he finally got the hang of it, but i also told him to do this when he practices at home or else he'd easily forget  them. The next time i see him, i plan on working both on his tone AND notes.

first day at Junipero Serra

Today I went to Junipero Serra Elementary.  The first thing I noticed was that they weren’t as good as the other schools; probably because they only get only one day out of the week to rehearse as a band. I didn’t get to give to any sectionals or individual lessons today, I wish I did though because their trumpet section wasn’t the best, which means I’ve got to work with this school the most! but for some reason, their percussion section was better than the other schools.   

day2-02-09-11, Ponderosa Elementary School

Today the first thing i did was help out the drummers with rhythm, i am not a drummer but i know how to read the rhythms (they were easy because it was out of a beginners book). Next, my mentor told me to go and help two trumpeters with their tone, he also gave me advice on what i should teach them when it comes to tone. It was harder today, because instead of one kid like at Buri Buri, i had to teach two. One of the kids knew how to play better than the other, but i felt bad because i was giving more of the lesson to the one who didn't know how to play as well. It's very hard to teach them when it comes to tone on trumpet, because it varies for us brass players... we all have different embouchure's (muscles around lip). I have to be in the kids body to know what he's doing wrong. My goal for next time is to make their trumpets actually sound like one...

first day of mentoring/teaching

Today caught me off guard, i thought it would be easy but in reality... it's super hard. I went to Buri Buri elementary  school to help and teach kids with the music, i was then asked to help one kid who plays trumpet (he didn't know how to read at all). When i was working with him, i first noticed that his tone was horrible so i had to keep giving him tips on how to get a better sound. After about twenty minutes, it improved just a little, but i didn't even get to teach him how to read music due to time. This will be my main goal on Thursday when i come back.

MY TOPIC

For my senior project i will be learning how to teach kids, specifically in the area of teaching them how to play an instrument, and how to read and understand music.